4 Features of Blackboard Collaborate to Help Deliver a Secure Virtual Classroom
At Blackboard, the safety and security of your Blackboard Collaborate virtual classroom is of the utmost importance to us. We know that many of you have completed the transition to a fully remote learning environment, and some of you are in the process of transitioning now, and this shift has created new challenges when it comes to things like securing your virtual learning environment. With reports of unauthorized individuals gate-crashing sessions, I wanted to take this opportunity to make sure that you are leveraging the security features built into Blackboard Collaborate to provide the most secure learning experience that protects students from individuals who are on a mission to disrupt instruction.
Our Collaborate solution is uniquely designed for education with features that help schools, institutions and organizations securely deliver synchronous learning for students. With over two decades of experience delivering online learning, we have amassed a great deal of best practices to help our clients deliver a secure learning experience for students.
Here are four core features of Collaborate that you can utilize to help ensure a secure virtual classroom for your students:
- Restrict participant permissions: This feature enables instructors to ensure that only session moderators can control the whiteboard, video/audio, and chat features.
- Secure authentication: This ensures students are able to access only those virtual classrooms assigned for their course (this requires integration with an LMS).
- Unique session links: This enables instructors to send a secure, unique link to session participants (LMS not required).
- Restrict access: This enables instructors to restrict the list of those who can enter their virtual classroom, by disabling access by unauthenticated users.
We have prepared FAQ documents listed below by product version to help you navigate all of the security features within Collaborate, including helpful instructions for administrators, instructors, and users. If you need additional assistance with setting up these configurations, Please open a support ticket at http://behind.blackboard.com/.
In addition to security, Collaborate is designed to help you meet your privacy obligations. We recently published a data sheet that outlines how Collaborate can help you comply with requirements and protect student privacy. There are two versions of the data sheet: one for our U.S. clients and the other for our international clients. It also includes helpful best practices for administrators, instructors, and users.
We are deeply committed to working hand-in-hand with you during this global pandemic to ensure your students have access to a robust, secure learning environment. We believe that together, we can overcome the challenges of today and help you prepare for tomorrow.
FAQ Documents (by product version)